Children's Home run by Heartwood RSC Limited in Cambridgeshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2497538 1 Registered provider: Heartwood RSC Ltd

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This is a privately owned home that provides care for up to five children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, four children were living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in January 2023.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2497538 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/05/2024 Full Good 29/08/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 09/05/2022 Full Good 29/09/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2497538 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All four of the children living at the home contributed to the inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children are making significant progress. Since the last inspection, two children have moved on from the home in a planned way, returning to the care of their families. Professionals attribute this to be a result of the help and support offered to children by the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children are in mainstream education provisions. Children are supported to understand the importance of education. There are imbedded routines in the home that encourage children to attend school daily. One child is now attending full-time mainstream school after being out of education for 18 months. All children are achieving in line with their individual educational targets.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to develop hobbies and to feel part of the local community. Children enjoy bingo at the local village hall, and they are supported to learn to use the train and public transport to go into nearby towns and cities. Children’s friendships are valued, and children enjoy having their peers visit the home and attend activities with the children and staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported gain important life skills. Children learn to cook meals, open bank accounts and set up wireless internet systems in the home. There is a focus on children gaining the skills needed to live independently in the future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to live together in a positive way. Children understand the importance of relationships, communication, respect and compromise. As a result, the home is settled, full of laughter and mainly free from significant challenges.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children develop emotional resilience and learn how to regulate and manage their feelings in a positive way. Feedback from professionals and families is consistently positive.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There are a low number of significant incidents in the home. Children are settled, happy and are responding well to routine and clear expectations. There is a low level of missing-from-care and physical interventions. Consequences in the home are limited and are clearly explained to children when they have occurred.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Feedback from professionals and families is overwhelmingly positive. Professionals shared that they are extremely happy with the care offered to children, and that their children have made clear progress. One family member said that she was thankful that her child ‘had managed to go somewhere that actually does care’. One child told their professional ‘it’s like I’ve never been anywhere else’. Inspection report for children’s home: 2497538 4

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

There is an embedded ethos of children being fully involved in their care and decisions that affect their lives. Children are involved in the content of their plans and documents, and staff routinely spend time with children reading and sharing their care plans and relevant documents. Children share their views in regular house meetings and one-to- one conversations with the registered manager, who ensures that children’s requests are responded to appropriately.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

There is careful planning in relation to children moving into the home. The manager has strengthened the referrals process for children, to ensure that they can be confident that they have all the information that they need to consider the suitability of the home for the child.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Children experience well-planned and well-thought-through moves both in and out of the home. The children who are living in the home are consulted and kept up to date with any information and decisions about new children coming to live at the home.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Children are happy living in the home. Children know how to make complaints, and shared that they would speak to the deputy or the manager if they were worried about anything. Children have access to the children’s guide to supplement this knowledge.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

All children shared that they have not raised any concerns because they do not have any concerns. Or, if they have raised concerns, that they have been listened to and the registered manager has taken them seriously.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Children have made allegations in relation to staff since the last inspection. For most incidents, these have been actioned appropriately, and the manager and staff have taken immediate and appropriate action to ensure the safety of children.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

On one occasion, staff did not immediately seek the advice of an on-call manager without delay when a child made an allegation. This meant that the member of staff continued to work with the child in the evening before a manager was made aware. Once the manager was made aware, they took appropriate action without delay. However, the subsequent investigation into the concerns did not identify the delay that had occurred in sharing this allegation. This was not identified by the registered manager until the time of the inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by a qualified and suitably experienced registered manager. The registered manager is supported by a responsible individual who knows the children well and is involved in the day-to-day running of the home. The manager and the responsible individual are ambitious for the home and for the children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2497538 5 Records in the home are being consistently reviewed by the manager and the responsible individual. There is an effective system for ensuring that all records have management and responsible individual oversight.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Care plans and risk assessments are clear, up to date and easy for staff to follow. Risk assessments incorporate the home’s therapeutic ethos and include clear strategies for staff to follow. This helps to ensure consistency for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are positive about the support and guidance offered by the manager and the responsible individual. All staff spoke about a transparent culture and a feeling of confidence that they would be listened to by the manager if they raised any concerns.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There have been improvements made in the recruitment and retention of staff. Children experience care that is consistent, provided by adults that know them well. There has been one use of agency staff since the last inspection and this agency member of staff was subsequently employed by the home to ensure continuity in the care offered to children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2497538 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff consistently follow the home’s policies and procedures for the benefit of the children in the home’s care. In particular, that internal monitoring and oversight identify when staff have not followed procedures and effective action is taken to reduce the likelihood of reoccurrence. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.20)  The registered person should ensure that staff report any allegation of abuse immediately to a senior manager in the home. Any allegation of harm or abuse must be addressed in line with the home’s child protection policy. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 44, paragraph 9.17)

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people, using the social care common inspection framework. This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, and to consider how well it complies with The Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’. Inspection report for children’s home: 2497538 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Heartwood RSC Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 416 Green Lane, Ilford IG3 9JX

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Inspector

Andrea Bounden, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2497538 8 and inspects to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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